


Howl

by SummerLeighWind



Series: Farley Goyle [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Drabble Series, F/M, Harry Potter Next Generation, Next Generation, Romance, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-27 10:29:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8398093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerLeighWind/pseuds/SummerLeighWind
Summary: There's no denying it, he's a werewolf. It changes everything for Farley Goyle.





	1. Howl

* * *

He falls to the ground. His nose smashes into the rough, warped floorboards of his family's shed. It hurts, but it's comparative to stubbing a toe in the face of the rest of his agony. His muscles spasm, tightening around his elongating bones like devil's snare around a person's throat. His joints pop and shift. He digs his nails into the flesh of his hip as it dislocates. It does nothing to ease his pain, probably adds to it, but he's too overwhelmed to even think.

Unable to suffer in silence any longer, Farley Goyle howls.


	2. Dawn: I

Farley wakes to a raw, throbbing body and the gentle caresses of tiny fingers. He eases an eye open and frowns at the blurry figure above him.

"Babs?" he murmurs.

Big, lopsided ears lift skyward. "Yes, Master Farley."

"What're you doin'?" Farley slurs.

The house elf pats his face. "Caring for my favorite master."

Briefly, he feels touched. Farley's always loved Babs too. But, then, confusion overcomes him. "How'd you know I was here?"

Somehow, Babs manages to look both grave and proud at the same time. "Babs knows her Masters. Babs watches them," she answers him.


	3. Dawn: II

Farley shoots up in a panic. Adrenaline-fear flows through him. "You haven't told Mum or Dad, have you?"

The house elf shakes her head. "No. Babs works a long time for the Bulstrodes. She knows what Mistress Millicent will have Babs do."

"Thank you," he says, tears welling in the corners of his eyes.

Babs expression turns uneasy. "Master Farley must go. Babs doesn't want to put Master Farley down."

"I know." He averts his gaze as the previously dammed tears pour down his face. "Tonight."

She squeezes his thumb with her tiny hand. "Babs will help."


	4. Alone

His family's house elf can't stay long, after healing Farley, she has work to do. Bab is also in charge of gathering everything Farley will need. Money, clothes, a little food, a few sentimental items (a picture of him, Alexis, and Chip laughing together, a birthday card Ulyssa made him when they were small, a storybook Dad used to read to Farley), and his wand.

This will be Farley's first time on his own. He will only have himself to rely on. If he messes up, no one's going to rescue him.

It's terrifying.


	5. Disappear

Babs cries openly. Despite how sore he is, Farley kneels down and embraces her. She clings to him, spindly fingers tangling in his robe. Breathing in the scents of spice and smoke that cloak Babs, he whispers, "I won't forget you."

The house elf dabs her eyes with her tunic. "I'll be missing you always, Master Farley."

Farley's heart shatters. Babs deserves better than a life of misery serving his parents. Taking off the hat he wears, he puts it on her head. Bab's face becomes awestruck.

"Bless yous, Master Farley."

He smiles back. "You're welcome."


	6. Choices

Farley putters around the countryside for a bit. He sleeps in a makeshift tent and regains his strength. After a week of traveling across half of England on foot, he makes a decision. He will leave it altogether. But where will he go? Farley cusses out his idiocy. If only he'd paid more attention to DADA lessons on werewolf laws around the world.

In the end, he decides he will go to Canada. He knows nothing about the country, but Ulyssa lives and works at an Inn there. Surely she will offer Farley shelter.

If only until she finds out.


	7. Damned

He makes it New Foundland before the full moon catches up to him. There is no time to prepare a cage for his wolf. Too scared to tell a soul about what he is, Farley leaves the hostel he's staying at an hour to sunset and hides away in a nearby woods. As he waits for the moon to rise, he ties himself to a tree with a rope and charms both with triple their original strength.

He prays it will be enough.

Come morning, both tree and rope are decimated. A stranger's blood coats his tongue.


	8. Ulyssa

Ulyssa has never been considered a stunner by any means. A handful of students (Farley included) once described her as being not bad to look at, but, mostly, all anyone ever has to say about her is she's above average. Right now, though, he thinks she is the most exquisite sight in all the world. A smile mozying its way across his face, Farley lets his knapsack fall to the floor of the Inn with a thunk. She glances away from the papers in her hand.

"Farley? Farley Goyle?"

He nods.

The papers slide from her hands like raindrops.


	9. Scars

It takes Farley a week to tell her. And only after Ulyssa barges into his room while he is dressing. He goes still at the sight of her. The same way a rabbit does when it fears a fox has caught sight of them among the brush. Much like a fox, she presses forward, eyes keen. Her fingers go to the fresh, puckered scars that creep up his side. She tugs at the band of his pants. Fleetingly, he fears she'll ask to see the ones still hidden.

Instead, she meets his gaze. "Tell me about them," she says.


	10. Confession

"Hey! That's–"

Ulyssa holds up the handmade birthday card she once gave Farley. He stops. He'd forgotten he packed that.

"You kept this?"

Farley lowers his gaze, embarrassed. "Yeah."

"Why?" she asks, only centimeters away from him now.

He looks between her and the sparkly 'Happy Birthday!' scrawled across the front of the card she still holds. "I never stopped loving you," he mumbles. "I always considered you my friend, even after Opal, Alexis, and Chip came into the picture."

Ulyssa's eyes turn soft, but her voice is teasing as she says, "You're such a sap, Farley."


	11. Questions

"Do they know?".

He twines their fingers together.

Ulyssa wedges her icy toes between his knees. "Farley."

"I don't know," he confesses. Then, after brief consideration, Farley says, "Probably not."

She tucks herself under Farley's chin and begins to trace spiderweb-fine scars along his sternum. "Does anyone?"

"Only Babs," he whispers.

She lifts her head. Her face is incredulous. "Your _house elf_?"

Farley scowls. "No, my _friend_."

Ulyssa huffs her disbelief but settles back down. After a while, she asks, "Have you thought of writing home? To tell your friends?"

He closes his eyes. "A thousand times."


	12. Matrimony

She throws a magazine down on the table. Obediently, Farley looks at it. It is open to a page full of different kinds of rings. A silver one with a single embedded emerald is circled in red ink.

He glances up at her.

Ulyssa's arms are crossed and her legs set apart – as if she is expecting a fight. "I want to get married."

"Okay."

Her hard expression falters. "Okay?"

Farley gently pulls Ulyssa into his lap. He presses a single kiss to her cheek and says, "Yeah. I love you."

She grins broadly. "Love you too, Farley."


	13. Nighterrors

He wakes with a shout.

Hands grab his face.

Farley wrenches himself away.

"Love," Ulyssa whispers. "What's wrong?"

"I dreamed of them," he tells her. "The camper I killed."

Her arms settle around his middle. "It's okay."

He shivers. It i _sn't_. The phantom-tang of blood is on his lips. Farley can see the camper feebly fighting against him in his mind's eye. Their shrieks echo in his head. He remembers the _ecstasy_ his wolf felt during the murder.

Even worse than the memories, however, is knowing the wolf's jubilation is not its alone.


	14. Home

Farley stares. The bold, black numbers of the calendar do not change. He can't believe eight years have passed since he fled from his life in England. Locking his calloused, scarred fingers behind his back, Farley considers those he left behind. How are Alexis and Chip? His parents? What of Babs? A sudden wave of yearning overwhelms Farley. He takes a deep breath. Slowly, the tide of emotion recedes.

Farley looks to his wife on the other side of the Inn's front desk.

"What do you think about a trip home?"

The corners of Ulyssa's mouth curve.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think with a kudo and/or comment :)


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